Video: Recording the Envelope Shape with a MIDI Controller

So let's explore how I can use a MIDI controller to record the shape of control envelope 1 and 2. So the first thing I want to do is set up my MIDI controller to work with envelope 1. So down in the bottom in the MIDI Controller assignments, you can see I have control envelope 1 here, and it's already set to ModWhl. So if I want to change that, I can just click right here and choose something else or I can learn it to a MIDI controller on my keyboard. For control envelope 2, right now it's set to Foot controller, but I'm going to change that to after touch. So if we take a look at our envelope here, what I'm going to want to do is set the Target first, so I want to set it to Filter Cutoff.

Join author Brian Trifon as he shows how to improve music and audio productions using virtual instruments in Logic Pro. This course tours the program's virtual instruments, including the ES2 hybrid synthesizer, Sculpture physical modeling synthesizer, EFM1 FM synthesizer, the EVOC 20 vocoder, the Ultrabeat drum synthesizer, and the EXS24 sampler, and shows how to achieve various effects with each instrument's parameters. The course also covers working with oscillators and filters, understanding signal flow, creating custom synthesizer patches, adding effects, synthesizing speech, creating a library of custom sound samples, and much more.

Virtual Instruments with Logic Pro will be updating on a monthly basis, eventually covering all the virtual instruments in the application. Look for the latest movies here and on the lynda.com blog.

Recording the Envelope Shape with a MIDI Controller

So let's explore how I can use a MIDI controller to record the shape ofcontrol envelope 1 and 2.So the first thing I want to do is set up my MIDI controller to workwith envelope 1.So down in the bottom in the MIDI Controller assignments, you can see I havecontrol envelope 1 here, and it's already set to ModWhl.So if I want to change that, I can just click right here and choose somethingelse or I can learn it to a MIDI controller on my keyboard.For control envelope 2, right now it's set to Foot controller, but I'm going tochange that to after touch.So if we take a look at our envelope here, what I'm going to want to do is setthe Target first, so I want to set it to Filter Cutoff.

So I'm going to turn on Target 1, and I'm going to choose Filter Cutoff.Now in order for this to work, I'm going to have to create a sound that has thefilter active, so I'll adjust just the sound first, so I will play a note.(music playing)And I want a little bit more sustain, so I'm going to adjust the Media Loss,give it less media loss, and adjust the strength of object 1, to give everythinga little bit more intensity.(music playing)So I have kind of a long release right now, so I'm going to bring down therelease time in the Amp envelope.

Here we go, and then I'm going to turn on the Filter, and I've got a low-passfilter. And now I want to set it to its minimum amount, so the most filtered downthat I want it to be.Okay, so probably like here would be good.So then what I'm going to do is adjust the amount here in the Target sectionof control envelope 1.So when I increase the amount, what that allows me to do is use theModWhl, which is the thing that's controlling envelope 1, and now I canmodulate the Filter Cutoff.

(music playing)So now what I want to do is record my ModWhl movements into this controlenvelope, so what I can do is use the Record button up here, but first let'stake a look at the Record Trigger options.So this is what's going to trigger the recording to start.So I've got NoteOn, so that means it'll start recording as soon as I press a note,or I've got Note+Ctrl Movement, and that means that when I strike a note and Imove the controller, then it'll start recording.Or I can have it be Note+Sustain Pedal, so when I hit the sustain pedal and Iplay a note, then it'll start recording.

I'm going to use the Note+Ctrl Movement.So what I'm going to do is go ahead and hit the R button for record and thatputs it in record pause.So now what it's waiting for, it's waiting for me to play a note and move mycontroller, so that's what I'm going to do. Play a note. I am moving my ModWhl.You can see that the Record button now is a solid red. That means it is recording.Okay, so that's cool, so I'll let go.And you can see it recorded in my envelope, so here it is, right here. Those areall my ModWhl movements.

Now if we take a look at this envelope, we can see that the five points thatwere in the ADSR envelope are still here. So here's .1, here's .2, .3, .4, whichis our sustain point, and .5, which is the release.So if I play a note now--(music playing)--you can hear it's playing back all of my ModWhl movements, so I've just recordedthis custom filter envelope shape.So there's a bunch of things I can do with it.I can edit it just like the ADSR envelope.

So I can select a point and then I can drag it back and forth or up and down,so it's very easy to edit. And I can click directly on the envelope itself toedit the curvature.And one feature of recorded envelopes is I can hold down Command and adjust thevariation, so kind of smooths out some the peaks.Furthermore, if I want this to be synchronized to the tempo of the song, I can hitthe Sync button. So now it's in terms of quarter notes and divisions of thebeat, so that just makes editing easier.

So I can just compress this area right here, and I can make this section shorteras well, and now we have a much shorter envelope, so let's hear that.(music playing)So you can hear, it has really sped up towards the end here.So what if I decide that I don't like my edited envelope all that much?Well, fortunately there is a Compare feature. So right now I can see that myenvelope is edited from the original, because it says edited.So if I click on that, then it switches me back to the original envelope.

So if I didn't like my edited one, then I can start back from the original andreadjust it from here.So if I want to go back to my edited version, I'm just going to click where itsays original and that brings me back to my edited one.Now if I want to adjust the timescale of this envelope, say I want to make thewhole thing much shorter,I can do that right here.So I want to make this envelope half the length,so I'm going to set this down do 50%.So now when I play a note-- (music playing)you can hear this envelope plays back twice as fast.

If I want to reset this, I can just Option+Click and then it's back toits original setting.And the other feature we have here is that I can use velocity to modulatethe attack time.So if I move this to the right, what that means is that a harder velocity isgoing to make a slower attack, and a softer velocity is going to make a faster attack.And so in this envelope the attack is the distance between this first pointand the second point.So let's check that out. So if a play with a hard velocity, you'll hear aslower attack.

(music playing)So you can hear it's going to this envelope really slowly.So now if I play with a softer velocity, it will play through the attack stage faster.(music playing) So you can hear that is faster than before.As you can see, being able to record the envelope shape as a MIDI controllerallows for unique and complex modulation that would be near impossible to createwith traditional envelopes.In the next video, let's explore the looping, sustain, and velocity features ofthe control envelopes.

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